Communications measurement

Want comms measurement advice from the world’s leading experts? Then look no further. Marianne Morgan, our director of research and analytics, has rounded up key learnings from the 2022 Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Comms (AMEC) Summit.

1. Measurement is growing.

If you aren’t investing in comms measurement, then you are part of an ever-decreasing pool. An early glance at the AMEC member survey shows that 88% of measurement professionals expect their sector to grow in the coming year.

2. A new tool will make getting started with measurement easier.

For those who don’t know, AMEC is the global trade body that sets best-practice when it comes to comms measurement. From June 2022 AMEC’s flagship Integrated Evaluation Framework (IEF) tool will have a new ‘tutorial’ feature, giving comms professionals step-by-step instructions on how to measure their programmes.

3. Use data to solve problems and ask questions, not to demonstrate impact.

While proving the value of PR is important, speakers agreed that using measurement to inform future comms is much more valuable. Lots of keynotes focussed on how measurement data can be used to open conversations and understand the real problems that need solving.

4. The best reporting tells stories.

Data storyteller may feel like a made-up job title but that is how many at the conference could best describe what they do. The industry-leaders combine the best bits of data analytics and PR to create reports that aren’t filled with charts and stats but, instead, use data to tell a story that ends in a clear strategy.

5. Getting things wrong can be epic (in a good way).

There were plenty of stories of where projects went wrong. The consensus in the room was that failure was inevitable and valuable but the key is to do it quickly and learn from it. Interesting case studies included the UK Government’s Project Epic, which aims to use learnings from the covid-19 pandemic to inform future strategy.

6. Use the one-slide rule to get better insights.

There were a few nifty tricks on offer to help make sense of your data. The easiest? If you are struggling to work out what your key insight or outtake is, challenge yourself to summarise it in just one visual or slide.

7. Brand building is needed for long-term growth.

The importance of brand building was a key topic with one speaker showing that brands which only invest in performance marketing will stop growing in the long-term. Data shared showed the perfect budget split as 60% on brand building and 40% on performance marketing and demonstrated that PR is the second most effective tactic for brand building (after sponsorships).

8. Go local to bring people together.

While the summit focused more on measurement techniques than specific audiences, the power of local and regional media shone through. In fact, US data showed that only local and regional media performed strongly for trust amongst both Republicans and Democrats suggesting that they may also have a larger role in society.

9. Use data to understand how to tackle misinformation and detractors.

Data shared at the conference suggests that “enemies of peace” (ie. detractors) rarely generate more than 5% of discussion. Speakers advocated using data to decide whether it is worth diverting resources from proactive communications to tackle something that is self-limiting.

To find out more about how Citypress uses data to inform and improve future comms, get in touch.